In Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, an old man in Pewter City near the Route 3 entrance will give the player one of these items. In Pokémon Gold, Crystal, and HeartGold, he gives the Silver Wing; in Pokémon Silver and SoulSilver, he gives the Rainbow Wing.

With the Rainbow Wing, the player can encounter Ho-Oh at the top of Bell Tower (known as Tin Tower in Generation II). With the Silver Wing, the player can encounter Lugia in the depths of the Whirl Islands.

The player must then talk to Xatu at the Great Canyon, who will explain what the player must do next. After defeating Entei at Fiery Field, Entei will turn the Clear Wing into the Red Wing (Japanese: しんくのはねCrimson Feather), and send the player to Lightning Field.

After defeating Raikou there, Raikou will turn the Red Wing into the Sunset Wing (Japanese: ゆうひのはねSunset Feather) and send the player to Northwind Field.

After defeating Suicune here, Suicune will turn the Sunset Wing into the Rainbow Wing (Japanese: なないろのはねPrismatic Feather) and send the player off to Mt. Faraway. Here, due to the power of the Rainbow Wing, the player can encounter, battle and recruitHo-Oh.

In the anime

In the main series

The Silver Wing appeared in several episodes set in the Whirl Islands. In The Mystery is History, Luka rescued Silver from Cassidy and Butch, and explained that she was trying to discover information about a Silver Wing that she got from her great-grandfather, which she now keeps inside a locket. When Silver's parent appeared from the ocean, her Silver Wing began to glow a violent red. When it finally began to trust them and calmed down, the glowing stopped. When everyone went swimming with Silver and its parent, she realized the Silver Wing is a feather from Lugia, and became relieved to have finally unlocked its secret.

On Silver Rock Isle, there is a tale that a crew caught in a storm was rescued by a wild Lugia. From that day forward, the citizens on the island have glorified the Silver Wing, putting it on various trinkets, jewelry, souvenirs, etc.

A Rainbow Wing played a major role in I Choose You!. Set in a timeline different from the main series, it was found by Ash when he first saw Ho-Oh. During the movie, Ash learned that Ho-Oh had given him the Rainbow Wing as a recognition of having chosen him to be the "Rainbow Hero". As a result, he decided to travel to Mount Tensei to meet and battle Ho-Oh. When Cross, wanting to meet Ho-Oh himself, stole the Rainbow Wing from Ash and tried to use it to summon Ho-Oh, it became corrupted by his selfish desires, causing Marshadow, the legendary guide of Rainbow Heroes, to send a group of wild Pokémon on a rampage. When Ash was killed by the rampaging Pokémon, the Rainbow Wing crumbled away. However, once Ash was revived, the Rainbow Wing was also reformed, allowing Ash to use it to summon and battle Ho-Oh.

The Masked Man also used a Rainbow Wing and a Silver Wing directly collected from their respective Legendary Pokémon in order to create a GS Ball. Only a capture net created from these two feathers could contain Celebi and allow its holder to travel through time without suffering its negative side effects.